


Waiting

by Liza0111



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: M/M, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4015330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza0111/pseuds/Liza0111
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slaine Troyard waits patiently. For sure, miracles don't exist. That's what he has been telling himself over and over again. But he can't help but to wish for one to come true this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting

 

“From now on, you will no longer be held as a prisoner, Slaine Troyard.”

Slaine stares at the man sitting across the table from him in utter bewilderment. Inhao Kaizuka’s face is calm and expressionless as always, which make Slaine question his own ears for a second. This is impossible. He tells himself. He must have misheard what Inaho just said.

“What do you mean, no longer be held as a prisoner? I am a war criminal.”

“You will still be under surveillance. And there are still regulations that you have follow. But from now on, you are released from prison. We have arranged a place for you to stay. For your own safety, you won’t be able to show up in public for a while.“ Inaho closes the folder sitting in front of him. “I will explain the details to you later.”

“……why? Why are you letting me leave now?“ Slaine bites his lips and asks bitterly. “Aren’t you worried that I will try to commit suicide once I get out of here? Wouldn’t your mission fail if that happens?” Princess Asseylum’s wish is for him to be alive. And that’s the only reason Inaho Kaizuka chose not to kill him. Perhaps Inaho stops caring about her request and is willing to let him die now.

“No. I am not. ” Inaho stands up from his chair. He glances at Slaine, who is clearly still skeptical about the words coming from his mouth. “Come with me. There is someone I want you to meet.”

  
  
  
  


Slaine does not know where Inaho is taking him, and he does not fulfill his promise of “explaining the details.” But he feels like he isn’t in a position to be asking questions.

He is Slaine Troyard. The man who is responsible for the war between Vers and Earth, after all.

“We are here.” Inaho stops the car in front of a facility and leads him inside. At first glance Slaine almost thinks this is another prison, but the inside of the institute is actually bright with fluorescent light. With walls covered in white paint, it gives out an aura of emptiness. Slaine can identify the faint smell of disinfectant in the air. He is about to inquire Inaho the meaning behind all of this, until he sees the room made of glass at the end of the hallway.

Behind those doors, Slaine can see a man lying on the hospital bed. Half of his face is covered by an oxygen mask. Various life support machines and medical monitors surround his bedside.

When Slaine sees the streaks of dark hair resting softly against the white pillow, he can feel his body trembling. Droplets of tears fall from his eyes, leaving wet streaks on his cheeks. He has to cover his mouth to suppress the cry that is about to escape his quivering lips.

_This is impossible._

He is here……right here in front of him.

“Is it……Is it really him? Is it really Harklight?” Slaine puts his hand against the cold glass wall, his voice shaking. His vision is blurry with tears and he can hardly contain his sobs. Harklight is alive.  He is alive. He wipes his eyes with his sleeve and turns his head towards Inaho, sniffling a few times. “I was told that they all died on the battlefield…….None of them made it alive.”

“He was the only one who survived.” Inaho replies. Although Slaine is incapable of detecting his emotions, he can tell that Inaho isn’t complete indifferent to the situation. “When they captured him, he was in critical condition and severely injured. He lost his consciousness before they could question him.“

“……Why would they save him?” Slaine whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. “It was at your request wasn’t it, you asked them to spare him……”

“It was necessary for me to do so. In order to complete my mission.” Inaho answers in the same tone he had when he told Asseylum he did not mean to save her. He isn’t lying, but this isn’t the complete truth either. He presses on his eyepatch softly. “…….I was only fulfilling my promise.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that he was alive……?” Slaine asks softly, he is afraid that this was all a dream. Part of his imagination. It’s too good to be true.

Inaho pauses for a second before speaking again. “I was informed that he might not make it through the surgery.” It would have been too cruel. To give Slaine Troyard a ray of hope and then have it be crushed again.

“He hasn’t woke up since the surgery. But his conditions are now stable.” Inaho hands Slaine a key. For the first time since the war is over, he sees hope glowing in Slaine Troyard’s glossy eyes. “The place I have arranged for you to stay is only 15 minutes away from here. You can come visit him anytime you want.”

  
  


Week 1.

Slaine greets the doctor taking care of Harklight. He learns that his name was Dr. Yagarai, a former member of the Deucalion. When Slaine asks why he is willing to provide care for an enemy, a Maritan, the doctor smiles at him gently and tells him that no doctor should ever reject a patient because of their background.

Slaine quietly opens the door and walks towards Harklight’s bed. The sight of all the medical machines and tubes connected to Harklight makes his chest ache, but he forces himself to smile and sit down.

“Hearing the voice of a loved one can sometimes help a patient recover consciousness.” The doctor had told him.

For a brief while, Slaine doesn’t know what to say. He suddenly realizes that he has never had the chance to have this kind of conversation with Harklight. They talked about their goals and ambitions. They talked about strategies and battle tactics. They talked about the future of Vers. But nothing like this.

“Harklight, do you still remember the first time we met?” Once he starts, Slaine finds that it isn’t as difficult as he imagined. Perhaps deep inside his heart, Slaine is craving for a chance to talk to Harklight about things other than the war and Vers.

“It was on the day father……Count Saazbaum gave me the title of a knight.”

“He said that I needed someone trustworthy to be by my side. He said he would find a suitable subordinate for me.”

“I was opposed to the idea at first, because I didn’t think that any Martian would actually be willing to work for a Terran.”

“But you surprised me, Harklight. Other than Princess Asseylum and Count Saazbaum, you were the only Martian that didn’t show any contempt towards a Terran.”

“You accepted me, and I was grateful for that, Harklight.”

  
  


Week 2.

Slaine bought a bouquet of red tulips to visit Harklight. He doesn’t like how the room is entirely white with no decorations and colors.  It feels dull, almost as if it is draining the life out of Harklight, and the thought horrifies Slaine.

“Harklight. I wish you can see everything I saw today.” Slaine places the vase next to Harklight’s bed. “It is spring right now, and there all the flowers are blooming. It is very pretty.”

“……I think you would have liked it.”

“It was my wish…… to let you and Princess Lemrina see this. I was hoping that maybe after the war has ended, the people of Vers will be able to return to Earth and live here again. And you both would be able to see the sky and the oceans……..”

“Before coming to Vers, my father and I travelled to many places around the world, and we saw all sorts of different things.”

“……I wanted to let you see that too, Harklight.”

  
  


Week 3.

Slaine is surprised to see Inaho standing in front of Harklight’s room. Was he waiting for him? He wonders. Inaho did mention that he is still under surveillance, but he thought Inaho’s duties ended when he was released……

“You seem to be doing well, Slaine Troyard.” Inaho says calmly. “I heard that you come here every day.”

“Yes. There is no need for you to worry. I am following all the regulations as you asked me to.” Slaine answers carefully.

“It has been three weeks.” Inaho says softly. He glances towards the glass windows. There seems to be very little change in the man’s conditions. For reasons unknown, Inaho became increasingly concerned, or even worried, about Slaine Troyard. Inaho is usually fairly confident about decisions he make, however, this time he can’t help but to question his own judgement. Was bringing him here the right thing to do?

“I am used to waiting.” Slaine Troyard’s answer is terse. Inaho suddenly remembers the brief encounter he had with Eddelrittuo after Empress Asseylum’s wedding. The young girl approached him nervously, her bright purple eyes full of tears.

“Inaho-san, I…….I heard from Her Highness that Slaine-sama is still alive, and……and I just want to know, is he alright?”

Inaho was surprised by the change in attitude he saw in Eddelrittuo. It was the day he found out about everything that happened after Slaine Troyard shot him in Saazbaum’s landing castle.

This must be difficult for him. Inaho catches a glimpse of Slaine’s placid expression as he walks towards the room and reaches for the door knob.

_“Slaine-sama waited 19 months…….and……and he has always told me to believe that Her Highness would wake up one day and smile at us again……He risked his life trying to protect her……and……”_

The brown haired girl’s sobbing voice echoed in his head.

And now he is in the same position again. Waiting endlessly.

“Bat.”

Slaine turns around in astonishment. He hasn’t heard this nickname since he was defeated by Inaho on the battlefield.

“There is no such thing as ‘impossible’.” Inaho’s lips curve into a slight smile. Slaine has never seen such an expression on his face before. Without even realizing it, Slaine finds himself smiling back too.

“I suppose so.”

When they both crash into the Earth, Slaine has told him that it would be impossible for them to survive. But somehow, they did.

Inaho did not say anything else before he takes his leave, because he feels that it would be unnecessary. Slaine Troyard is a strong person. Much stronger than he can imagine.

After all, Slaine was his biggest rival.

When Slaine can no longer see Inaho at the end of the hallway, the words escape his lips softly.

  
  
  


“……Thank you, Inaho Kaizuka.”

  
  
  
  


Week 4.

It is a rainy day in spring. Slaine comes to the hospital as usual. He hasn’t missed a day ever since he found out that Harklight is alive. But today his visit is late by 15 minutes.

“Harklight, I am sorry that I am late.”

“I got the chance to speak to Princess Lemrina today.”

He can’t hide the joy in his voice even if he tries.

“I didn’t know that Dr. Yagarai is also providing treatment for Princess Lemrina. She is doing very well. She might be able to walk again. I am so glad.”

“Princess Lemrina started crying when she saw me, she said she will never forgive me and hugged me so hard I almost couldn’t breath.”

“I should have been the one calming her down, but we both ended up crying. It was embarrassing of me. ”

Slaine can hear that his voice is starting to crack, so he quickly wipes the corner of his eyes and smiles at Harklight again.

“Please wake up soon, Harklight. Princess Lemrina is excited to see you too.”

  
  
  


Week 5.

“Good evening, Harklight. I bought you some new flowers today. These flowers are called roses.”

“Lemrina wanted to come along, but she had an appointment with a physical therapist today, I promised her that I will bring her along next time.”

“Harklight, do you know what is strange? I think……I am getting used to this, maybe just a little bit.”

_But no matter how much he tries, it still feels empty._

“Like Inaho Kaizuka said before, perhaps I am adjusting to the life I have right now.”

_Something is missing._

“Everyone I have met has been very kind……Inaho even introduced his friends to me.”

_The void inside of him is devouring him day by day._

“But why do I still feel this isn’t enough? It……hurts…….”

He can feel the drops of tears running down his cheeks, Slaine knows that his voice is broken, yet he does not have the strength to suppress his own emotions any longer.

He whimpers in agony and reaches for Harklight’s cold hands.

“Harklight, why did you come back for me on that day? I had commanded you to surrender, because I wanted you to live……”

Tears of regret continue to fill his eyes, and it doesn’t take long before he fully collapses and starts sobbing uncontrollably.

_“Why did you……come back for someone like me? “_

It took nearly losing him to make Slaine realize how much he needs Harklight. He is the only one that stood by him the entire time, accepted him for who he is, was loyal to the very end, and supported him unconditionally.

“Everytime I return from the battlefield, you were always the first one to greet me.”

“Everytime when I doubted myself, you were always there to reassure me.”

“Everytime when I was alone, you would come over and stood by me.”

The guilt and self-hatred that arose from the killing of his own almost torn Slaine apart, and it was Harklight who comforted him and took all his doubts and uncertainties away.

“Your voice was always so calming…….”

Slaine Troyard only has one wish. He is willing to do anything for this wish to come true.

  
  
  


 

 

 

“I just want to hear your voice one more time…….”

  
  


 

 

_**“Please, Harklight, talk to me……”** _

  
  
  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Sla……”

 

Although the sound is almost inaudible, there is no way that Slaine doesn’t recognize it.

 

His dark eyes are focused on him, blinking slowly. His voice weakly coming through the oxygen mask, and he grasps Slaine’s hand lightly . “Slaine……sama…….” Harklight’s throat is painfully dry and nearly every part of his body is hurting, but nothing else matters to him, because his lord is right here in front of him. “Milord…..Slaine-sama……”

Slaine’s eyes widen. He can’t stop the tears from flowing, or the pure joy and happiness from filling his heart. He can feel his own heartbeat inside his chest. The blood running through his body.

_He feels alive again._

“Yes, I am here”

 

Slaine Troyard holds Harklight’s hand tightly and answers him. Tears are falling from his eyes, but a smile is forming on his lips.

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

 

 

_“I am right here, Harklight-san.”_

  
  
  


 

 

 

-End

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I had to write this because Harklight is not dead. He is not dead. HARKLIGHT IS NOT DEAD. I will never believe that Harklight is dead. He is alive and he will be living with Slaine happily ever after. These two deserves all the happiness in the world ;-;


End file.
